


A Full Heart

by nyghtrain



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-11
Updated: 2014-09-11
Packaged: 2018-02-16 23:24:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2288444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyghtrain/pseuds/nyghtrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes it's hard to have a big heart, but it doesn't mean it's not worth it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Full Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This started off as a drabble I did on tumblr that grew into a oneshot. Something to tide people over until I do the sequel to Impossible Soulmates.

It started when Rin kissed Sousuke.

 

He came home crying, nearly inconsolable. It took his mother an hour to get him to calm down and another thirty minutes to admit what was wrong.

 

"I'm broken," Rin said, sniffling. "And I think I broke Sousuke."

 

Rin's mother gave her nine-year old son a soft smile. "Why do you think you're broken Rin?"

 

Very reluctantly, Rin turned his arm, revealing the heart on the back of his wrist. The usually empty heart was now half full with a deep teal blue color. Rin's mother stared in surprise. She must have stared too long, because Rin started to sniff again and big tears welled up in his eyes.

 

"It's supposed to be full. When you kiss your soulmate it's supposed to be full, but I kissed Sousuke and it started filling up, and then stopped. And Sousuke's did the same thing, and, and...I'm broken," Rin cried.

 

Rin's mother was quiet for a moment and then lifted his wrist, giving his heart a soft peck, like she would do when he skinned his knees. "You're not broken, Rin. It's just that you have a big heart."

 

"A big heart?" Rin asked.

 

"The biggest," his mother said. "It'll just take time for it to fill up completely.

 

"Really?"

 

"Yes, really," his mother promised.

 

"Sousuke too?" Rin asked.

 

His mother nodded and finally Rin seemed to calm down.

 

"Now, Rin, don't you think you should apologize to Sousuke," his mother said gently.

 

Rin wiped at his eyes. "Huh?"

 

"You kissed him and then ran away crying."

 

Rin blushed and gave a sheepish grin. "Oh, yeah." He hurried to his feet. "I'll go find him.”

 

His mother smiled, "And Rin?"

 

"Yes?"

 

His mother gave him a stern look. "No more kissing until you're older."

 

Rin's cheeks turned even redder. "Mom! So embarrassing." Then he was rushing out of the door.

 

Rin's mother chuckled as she looked down at her own wrist, a heart filled in with red. She smiled and went to make a call.

 

\---

 

When Rin decided to go to Iwatobi to swim, he told himself that he wasn't doing it to get away from Sousuke. He didn't look at Sousuke's face when he told him that he found some guys he wanted to swim with. He didn't look at the half empty heart on his wrist.

 

"Rin," Sousuke said.

 

Rin forced himself to look up.

 

Sousuke was smiling at him, that smile that always managed to make his heart beat faster. A smile that was such a sharp contrast to Sousuke's usual stoic expression.

 

"You better win."

 

Rin sucked in a breath and then laugh. "Who are you telling?"

 

They grinned at each other and everything was good, even if it wasn't.

 

And when they parted that day, Rin knew it wasn't for the last time, but when Sousuke leaned down and kissed him, a soft, almost shy kiss, but filled with that electric spark that made Rin's entire body felt clumsy, Rin's chest tightened.

 

He went home and he absolutely did not cry, until his eyes were puffy and his pillow was wet. He didn't touch his lips and taste the lingering flavor of a shared coke until a dreamless sleep snuck up on him that couldn't quite cover up his soft painful whimpers.

 

\---

 

When Rin met Makoto it was nothing like Sousuke. The sharp jab he felt when he thought of Sousuke he buried in swimming and his rivalry with Haru, but Makoto was different. Even though Makoto was good, he even beat Rin in breaststroke, Rin didn't feel like he needed to compete with him. Makoto was like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day.

 

His smile, instead of making his heart slam against his chest like with Sousuke, it made it melty and caused his bones to feel like jelly. He wanted to be near him, to just stand in his light. Makoto was ridiculously kind, sometimes a bit too gentle, but every once in a while he would surprise Rin by saying something teasing, or getting everyone to do what he wanted. And even though he was scared of everything, Makoto would never let anyone see him cry.

 

Rin found himself always staring, always wanting to see Makoto's smile, what he would do next, and the little nuances that made up Makoto Tachibana.

 

"You're staring," Haru said.

 

Rin jumped in surprise and looked at the swimmer. "W-what?

 

Haru simply looked at him.

 

Rin turned away and tried to ignore the flush crawling up his cheeks. "I'm not."

 

Haru grunted.

 

They stood their silently.

 

"I kissed Makoto,” Haru said abruptly.

 

Rin's head whipped up. "You did?" He nearly shouted.

 

"Yeah."

 

Rin stared at him.

 

Haru stared at the pool.

 

Rin let out a huff of irritation. "And?"

 

Haru shrugged. "It was nice."

 

Rin glared at Haru. "Nice? What does that mean?"

 

Haru gave him a blank stare. "Exactly what I said."

 

Rin frowned. "Does that mean-"

 

Before he could ask, Haru jumped into the pool.

 

After that, all day, Rin tried to catch a glimpse of Makoto's wrist, but he never managed. Most people kept their wrist covered, since they hearts on them were private, and even when swimming, they would wear elastic wristbands when they could. Makoto was the same.

 

Finally Rin gave up with an angry huff.

 

 

\---

 

"Show me your wrist," Rin demanded.

 

Rin tried to put more bravado in his voice than he felt. His entire face felt like it was heating up. Still he was firm. Tomorrow he would be on a flight to Australia and he couldn’t leave without finding out. So he called Makoto over. It had taken him forever to get the boy away from Haru. Haru watched him like a hawk, and Rin wasn’t sure if it was because Haru wanted Makoto all to himself or if he was just doing it to annoy Rin.

 

“W-what?” Makoto asked, his eyes wide.

 

Rin chewed on his bottom lip. “You don’t want to.”

 

“No!” Makoto said, his eyes wide and he grabbed Rin’s hand as if he was afraid he might leave. “That’s not it. I just…w-why?”

 

Rin had been asking himself that same question, but he just didn’t know, so he shrugged. Rin looked down at his feet and suddenly he felt bad. Maybe what he was doing was wrong. He opened his mouth to apologize when Makoto spoke.

 

“O-okay.”

 

Rin’s head snapped up and he looked at Makoto with hopeful eyes.

 

Makoto was blushing, but he held out his wrist.

 

Rin swallowed, somehow, the gesture felt so intimate. He reached out, ignoring the way his fingers trembled. Makoto’s wristband had a snap to it, and when Rin tugged on it, it made a sharp click. When Rin pulled the wristband off, the heart was blank.

 

A wave of relief spread through Rin’s entire body at the sight. For a moment he just stared at it, at the smooth black outline of the heart, that was filled with no color, just the bareness of Makoto’s skin. He ran his thumb over it.

 

Makoto shivered.

 

Rin looked up and his heart thumped loudly in his chest. Suddenly, he had the urge to lean down and place a soft kiss on the heart, but Makoto’s next words froze him on the spot.

 

“Can I see yours?” Makoto said shyly, a soft smile on his lips.

 

Rin jerked back, pushing his wrist behind his back. “Um, you can’t.”

 

Makoto’s brow furrowed. “I can’t, but-”

“You just can’t,” Rin said firmly.

 

Makoto sagged in disappointment and Rin felt bad about it. He knew he wasn’t being fair, but he absolutely couldn’t show Makoto his half-filled heart.

 

“Okay,” Makoto said with a sigh, “But…”

 

The way Makoto said that ‘but’ drew Rin’s attention.  

 

Makoto squared his shoulders and his entire face looked like it was on fire. “Rin can I…” Then he looked away and mumbled.

 

Rin blinked. “What?”

 

Makoto rubbed his wrist against his leg. “Can I…kiss you?”

 

Rin’s eyes widened and suddenly he wanted nothing else in the world more than he wanted Makoto to kiss him. But…and his heart squeezed, because there was something he wanted just as much. Teal eyes, dark hair, and a smile that always managed to take him offguard.

 

“I…”

 

“Please,” Makoto pleaded.

 

And Rin felt himself nod, because he couldn’t really deny Makoto anything and what would it hurt. “All right.”

 

Relief passed over Makoto’s face and a bright smile lit up his face.

 

Rin’s breath caught. “Wait! You can’t look at it. Not until after I leave.”

 

Makoto pouted, but he nodded.

 

“All right, then close your eyes,” Rin said.

 

“But I was going to kiss you.”

 

Rin gaped and then blushed. “F-fine.”

 

Rin closed his eyes, his entire body tense. He heard Makoto move closer to him and then hands grasped his arms. Makoto was shaking. His fingers tightened around Rin's arms, nearly bruising them, but Rin could understand the feeling of desperately wanting to cling on, so he didn’t complain.

 

Makoto’s lips touched his. They were warm and gentle. The kiss lasted three seconds, but in that amount of time, Rin realized something.

 

He was in love with Makoto. It swelled up inside him, almost overwhelming him.

 

Makoto pulled back with a sharp wail. “Rin! You’re crying. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean-“

 

“It’s okay,” Rin said, wiping away the tears he hadn’t realized he was crying. “It was just…”

 

“Just?” Makoto said, his face filled with worry.

 

Rin couldn’t stand it.  He reached out and hugged Makoto tight. “Just perfect.”

 

Everything was just so perfect and terrible all at once, because he loved Sousuke, but he loved Makoto too, and none of it made sense.

 

He pulled back and smiled. “I have to go! See ya. And remember don’t look until tomorrow.”

 

Then with a wave he ran. He ran and ran until he made it home, then he locked himself in his room. He ripped off his bracelet and glared down at his wrist.

 

He gasped.

 

The heart was full. It was filled with teal blue that slowly seeped into bright spring green.

 

\---

 

Many things happened after that. Austraila, the relay, Rin’s guilt and insecurity, but it wasn’t until just before high school graduation that he finally had the courage to move forward.

 

They were in Rin and Sousuke’s dorm room. Rin had managed to convince Makoto to come over for an indoor picnic dinner. It was a surprise and by the look on both Makoto and Sousuke’s face, neither one had caught on.

 

“Wow, Rin, this is really nice,” Makoto said.

 

Sousuke just looked amused. “Very romantic.”

 

“S-shut up.”

 

Sousuke chuckled.

 

Makoto looked between the two with a smile. “You two are really close, aren’t you?”

 

Sousuke looked at Makoto with a raised eyebrow. “Jealous?”

 

Makoto looked surprised at the question, which was to be expected, since he hadn’t interacted with Sousuke much. Then he looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure yet.”

 

That caught Sousuke off-guard and then he laughed. “Aren’t you filled with surprises?”

 

Makoto shrugged, but he looked pleased.

 

Rin couldn’t help smiling, watching them interact. He knew, if given the chance, the two might get along. He just hoped he didn’t ruin it with what he had to say. 

 

“Makoto, Sousuke, there’s something I want to show you.”

 

They both turned to him.

 

“Um, just, don’t freak out.” Rin hurried and tugged off his bracelet and showed them his wrist.

 

Both Sousuke and Makoto stared at it and then at him.

 

“Uh, Rin…”

 

Rin pointed at the teal. “That’s when I kissed Sousuke.” Then he pointed at the green. “And that’s when I kissed Makoto.”

 

Rin waited for them to say or do something.

 

Makoto smiled and then laughed. “I guess it makes sense.”

 

Sousuke snorted. “Like you hadn’t figured it out.”

 

Rin frowned and looked at the two. “Huh?”

 

Sousuke rolled his eyes and Makoto gave a sheepish smile.

 

“We should explain,” Makoto said.

 

Sousuke ignored Makoto. He yanked off his wristband, shoving his arm forward. Instead of the half red heart, it was red and green.

 

Makoto slid his bracelet off and revealed his own heart, filled with red  and teal. “After we saw this, we figured it must mean we all were connected. All three of us were soulmates.”

 

“How long?” Rin asked, as he stared down at the hearts

 

“Not long, about three weeks again,” Sousuke said.

 

Rin felt hurt and lost. Three weeks and they didn’t say anything.

 

Anger bubbled up in Rin, trying to hide the hurt. “Why didn’t you say anything? I mean I know I didn’t but that’s because I didn’t think you knew, but you both-“

 

“Rin, we weren’t trying to hide it from you,” Sousuke said calmly.

 

“Then why?” Rin said, and he hated how his voice sounded like it was half-pleading.

 

“We were waiting,” Makoto said. “We knew you would come to us when you were ready.”

 

“But that could have been forever.”

 

“Then we would have waited forever,” Makoto said softly.

 

Rin blushed.

 

Sousuke snorted. “Speak for yourself. Like I would really let Rin move to Tokyo without us.”

 

“Sousuke!” Makoto said, gaping.

 

Rin laughed and laughed, until he was sobbing. Two pairs of warm arms wrapped around him, and it was too much, and at the same time it was just right.

 

“You…” Rin started. Then he gulped in a breath and started again. “You both want this? I mean, all of us, together.”

 

“Yes,” Sousuke said, without a trace of doubt.

 

“Of course,” Makoto said. “Sousuke and I are still trying to get to know one another, but I really want to be with you. Both of you.” Makoto hesitated. “Do you? I mean if you just want to be with Sousuke I’ll-“

 

“Makoto,” Rin interrupted. “I want you. I want both of you. Always.”

 

Makoto blushed.

 

“Sappy,” Sousuke said, but he was grinning.

 

Rin couldn’t stop smiling.

 

His heart never felt so full.

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't noticed, I have a thing for soulmates au.


End file.
